Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,403 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,239,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $119.99. 2,029,109 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,764,479. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $43.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.94 and a 200 day moving average of $119.62.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.

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